Dread Pearl Shadows

Catherina Hanshaw Dalton has spent six years believing she lived a fairytale, married to billionaire Xavier Dalton, cherished by him, and building a life rooted in devotion, even amid one heartbreak she cannot control: their inability to have a child. Though Xavier assures her she is enough, Catherine senses his quiet disappointment, a wound deepened by the venomous hostility of his mother, Lydia Dalton. Lydia never misses a chance to insult Catherine’s infertility, idolize Xavier’s sister Mia and her children, or imply Xavier married beneath his status. Catherine endures it all, clinging to the one constant comfort, Xavier always defends her. Or so she believes. This Christmas, however, Catherine’s dread of another humiliating Dalton family gathering turns into confusion. Lydia is gracious….kind, even. The manor is full of relatives, business partners, and esteemed guests, including Hunter Powell, Xavier’s ruthless business rival. The brief moment when Cathy’s eyes meet Hunter unsettles her, but nothing prepares her for Lydia’s “special Christmas gift.” During the toast, Lydia presents Caroline Turner…a beautiful young woman who is allegedly four months pregnant through surrogacy…with Xavier’s child.

Star crossed lovers are not always star crossed because of the fault in their stars. Mostly, it is the fault in the society. Ashton James Schwimmer is every girl's dream: Handsome, rich and excellently brilliant. He is the only heir to Schwimmer group of companies. Girls are ready to throw themselves at his footsteps but he has his eyes only on Katherine, the new girl at school.Katherine Pearl Earnshaw is a hopeful young school girl, who is orphaned at the age of three. Her extraordinary brilliance lands her in Richmond High school with a scholarship. That's where she meets Ashton James Schwimmer. He changes the way she looks at life and makes her believe in love. Heartbreak comes when Callie, Ashton's best friend starts to plot ways against the couple. Their love is put to test and when everything falls apart, they end up divorcing each other.After enduring betrayal of false friendship, Ashton is grief-stricken until he meets Katherine again after three years, rekindling the spark and passion that they both thought was lost. Will he be able to gain her trust and a second chance to prove his love for her?

Isabella Martinez's father died when she was eighteen years old. She had been separated from her mother at an early age and had no knowledge of the business her mother was involved in with her new husband. After her father's death, she is pushed into her mother's world, where she meets her husband and her husband's son, Alex. Alex is unlike any male she has ever encountered; he is cruel and demanding. He's harsh and intimidating. Alex was known to instill dread in individuals merely by glancing at them. Isabella is unaware that he is the world's most dreaded Mafia Don. Alex claims Isabella is his own the instant his eyes meet hers. Her stepbrother is a womanizer who astonished everyone when he claimed Isabella. Isabella is terrified and despairing; will she learn to accept her stepbrother into her heart? She shouted out, "Y-You can't do that." ❝You are my brother.❞ He chuckled at her as his fingers gripped her tiny lace underwear. ❝I am not your brother, neonata.❞ His lips were on her neck, nibbling her skin and moving down to her breast. ❝ Why are you doing this? She asked, biting her lip as his tongue touched her bud. ❝ Because you are mine.

He wasn't supposed to look at her the way he did. And she wasn't supposed to feel Anything. Louisa Delaney gets bound to an Italian Mafia Don of a secretive and dangerous mafia family. After being manipulated by her husband into accepting surrogacy in return for money, Louisa steps into this Don’s dangerous world— with his child growing in her. From the moment Alessandro De Luca looked at her, something dangerous ignited. He was everything she didn't want to get involved with. Intense. Possessive. Powerful. Her heart was beginning to waver, his charm had began to slowly get to her until a blow hits her. He was married. Now she’s trapped in a family who hid their secrets behind a deceiving smile and a venomous wife who wants her gone while on the outside her indifferent husband suddenly cares and wants her back by all means. It's either her head or her heart. Because what happens when a man she was meant to avoid and forget… starts acting like she already belonged to him? “The mafia wanted a child, Alessandro wanted her”

  Lyra Daniel, an aspiring fashion designer, is on a mission to save her sick husband, Felix Thomson. Lyra crosses paths with Dante Cooper, a billionaire heir in need of a contract wife to appease his meddling family.    “I will give you $500,000 once we get married and $500,000 after the divorce is finalized,”  Lyra couldn't accept the deal because of her love for Felix.    But when Felix finds out about the contract...   "I swear to you, Lyra. I will never let you down. If you give me this second chance at life, then I promise you my life because…”   Unknown to Lyra, Felix's plea is part of deception to escape their marriage. She soon finds herself trapped in Dante's world, where he and his family view her as nothing but a gold digger.    Felix stopped responding to Lyra’s call, knowing that there was a high possibility that Dante wouldn't pay the balance of the contract. He then reconciled with his family, leaving Lyra divorced, alone, and depressed.    Dante finds out the truth, but it was too late. However, he refuses to give up on finding her.   Years later, Lyra has transformed into a powerful, celebrated figure in the fashion industry. She has rebuilt her life, but the scars of betrayal run deep.   Fate brings her back into the lives of both ex-husbands. Dante, now living in the same apartment building to escape his grandmother's matchmaking schemes.   "That scent… it reminds me of someone I used to know,"    Meanwhile, Felix, driven by selfish motives, seeks to exploit Lyra again.   "Lyra, we had something special. Let's not waste it,"  Will Lyra seize the opportunity for revenge? Or will the past pull her into deceit once more?

He will live forever, hunting the undead…. Aaron McReynolds is born in an Ireland where vampires reign and humans rely on secret pacts to keep themselves safe from the ones they dare not speak of. When those promises fail, he takes it upon himself to do whatever it takes to protect his family from the monsters that haunt Killarney. Transforming into a Guardian gives Aaron enormous power, but it also comes with a price. Live forever, but never rest; seek out those who would destroy mankind and terminate them. Discovering the one he loves most of all has turned, Aaron is faced with the ultimate question. Can he destroy her in order to save humanity? Follow Aaron’s journey through the ages as he and his team of Guardians and Hunters take on legendary creatures of the night such as Jack the Ripper and Dracula himself. He’s there when the Titanic flounders and for the bombing of Pearl Harbor--and so are the vampires. A Vampire Hunter’s Tale is a new series based on The Clandestine Saga. Fans of the series will love learning the origins of their favorite characters. If you haven’t read The Clandestine Saga but love alternative history interlaced with bloodsuckers, then Aaron is the book for you!

I was eight months pregnant, at a charity gala with my husband, Don Massimo, when a rival family hit us. The crowd panicked. I was shoved to the floor, hard. Blood everywhere. Massimo lost his mind, screaming for medics, desperate to save my baby. But when I woke up, they were gone. Both of them. No baby, no Massimo. I remembered the gunfire, Massimo shielding me with his body. A cold dread washed over me. I hauled myself into a wheelchair and raced down the hall. That’s when I heard them—Massimo and the doctor. "Boss, I'm sorry. We did everything we could. The baby… he didn't make it." Tears streamed down my face. They killed my baby. The rival family killed my baby. But his next words shattered my world. "There was only one medical team. I had to make a choice. Bianca… she was carrying my child, too." Massimo sighed, then gave the order. "No one tells Arabella. She'll raise Bianca's son as her own. He will be my only heir." I slapped a hand over my mouth, my vision blurred by tears as I turned away. The man I loved was a lie. Fine. If he wants a war, he'll get one.

My best friend and my husband, Lorenzo Bartoli, fought every time they met. Lorenzo was the Don of the family, while my best friend was his Consigliere. She always fiercely opposed his most ruthless, high-risk decisions. Tempers explode every single time. But there was one rule that they both agreed on without any hesitation. No one was allowed to touch me. Because of them, no one in the city dared to cross me. Until the fifth month of my pregnancy, when I went down to the basement vault to organize Lorenzo's guns for him. I opened the safe to see stacks of letters, hundreds of them, all unsent. I picked one up. The moment I opened the letter, cold dread overwhelmed me. The receiver of the letter wasn't me. [My dearest Sofia…] I quickly scanned downward to the final lines of the letter. [If I don't make it back alive, everything in the Swissie accounts goes to you. As for Vittoria, she's a good woman, but I have never loved her.] With trembling hands, I tore open the rest of the letters like a hysterical woman. Three hundred of them in total. Every single one was addressed to Sofia Finzi. Sofia was not a stranger. She was my best friend.

Chester Ford brings home a female university student for the 10th time during our 10th wedding anniversary banquet. He walks into the banquet hall with the young lady in his arms. "Don't you see that your outfit is clashing with hers, Yuna Sutherland? Take off your dress. Right here and now." He slowly loosens his tie while I take a step back in panic. He then proceeds to tug my pearl necklace from my neck. "What are you waiting for? Stop acting like you're innocent. Your father tossed your younger sister to Ford Group to be a kept woman back then. He also practically delivered you straight onto my bed, all for 30 million dollars. I'll never forget how he looked when he was begging on his knees." Everyone eagerly watches the drama unfold with champagne glasses in hand. I stare at the wedding ring on his ring finger, which is close to becoming tarnished. For the 10th time, I request a divorce. Chester sneers. "How original of you, Yuna. Yet, you eventually kneel and plead for forgiveness every time. If you leave the Ford family, who's going to pay to keep your sister alive in the ICU?"

Hindi matanggap ni Erica kung bakit lumaki siya sa pamilya na kakaiba. Papaanong kakaiba? Namulat kasi ito na ang kanyang ina ay isang Lesbian habang ang kanyang Ama naman ay isang bakla. Inggit na inggit siya sa normal na mga pamilya, iyon bang straight ang nanay at tatay, hindi katulad ng sa kanya. Palagi siyang tinutukso ng kanyang mga kaklase noong nag-aaral pa lamang ito, hanggang ngayon ba naman na may trabaho na siya? Kaya ipinangako nito sa kanyang sarili na siya ang magbabago ng kapalaran ng kanyang pamilya. Ipinangako nito na hinding-hindi siya matutulad sa kanyang ina o ama. Pero paano kung biglang makilala nito ang bagong CEO ng kanilang kompanya na si Pearl Torres? Kasing ganda nito ang kanyang pangalan na parang perlas na kumikinang. Magiging baliko rin kaya siya kagaya ng kanyang mga magulang? O mas pipiliin parin nito ang magkaroon ng normal na buhay na palagi niyang hinahangad para sa kanyang sarili.